Nintendo has today announced that the new Pokémon games, Pokémon Ruby and Pokémon Sapphire, have achieved fantastic sales across Europe, selling over 500,000 games during the first weekend. The launch on Friday 25th July of the highly anticipated games, Pokémon Ruby and Pokémon Sapphire, has already increased Game Boy Advance and Game Boy Advance SP hardware sales by an amazing 50% across Europe.

Since hitting shops across Europe Pokémon Ruby and Pokémon Sapphire have been literally flying off shelves as consumers snap up the games that have been tipped as the 'must have' titles for kids this summer. Retailers across Europe are selling out so quickly that they have already begun reordering copies of the games.

David Gosen, managing director, sales and marketing for Nintendo of Europe comments: "Pokémon Ruby and Pokémon Sapphire have enjoyed immediate success in America, Japan and now across Europe too.

Pokémon has been incredibly popular since it was originally launched in Japan in 1996 with 110 million games sold worldwide to date. The success of the video game has also been emulated by a merchandising campaign that has generated over $15 billion in retail sales to date. We are very pleased that the Pokémon phenomenon continues to bring enjoyment to so many kids across Europe."

Pokémon Ruby and Pokémon Sapphire launched on 25th July 2003 priced at around 45 Euros each. Click onto http://pokemon.nintendo.co.uk for all of the most up to date official information on Pokémon Ruby & Pokémon Sapphire.